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Foxlow, Clerkenwell

Foxlow was opened a few months ago by the people behind Hawksmoor, which basically means it was never going to disappoint. The steak restaurants have the very best staff and serve the very best food, and Foxlow follows in their loveable footsteps, with a menu that is less steak but still very meaty. It’s also still very expensive, but at these ones you get what you pay for, and we’re talking upper-middle class, not country pile.

Roast acorn squash, Moroccan spices (£4)

Obviously it’s really hard to resist having bacon for dinner, and the eight hour bacon rib, with its sticky maple and (not very) chilli sauce is pretty glorious. But try to scoot past it in favour of the ten hour beef shortrib with kimchi, for its soft, rich meat falls off the massive Flintstone bone like it wants to get to your mouth sooner, and the punchy kimchi is a remarkably good enhancement.

Sausage-stuffed onion (£3.50)

Most of the sides are irresistible, but how the hell could you not order an onion stuffed with sausage? Admittedly it was probably the only thing I wouldn’t order again, but no regrets, man, no regrets. Beef dripping potatoes with Gubbeen and capers, on the other hand, were way better than your mum’s roast potatoes. And I didn’t know that Gubbeen was cheese before they arrived; everything is that bit better when it involves surprise cheese.

Bourbon caramel soft serve sundae (£5)

And of course the pudding was the absolute best. A fiver might seem pricy for a bowl of Mr Whippy, but I’d pay twice that for another jug of that bourbon caramel sauce alone. Even the music put us at ease, despite being an odd jumble which included both Wham! and Laura Marling. The only thing I didn’t much like was my Sanlucar Fizz cocktail, which had the sort of flavours that I come up with when making cocktails out of what’s lurking in my parents’ booze cupboard. But hey, I’ll just order wine next time. And the next time, and the time after that, and the next time…

I’m SORRY about the even-more-terrible-than-usual photography; the place is pretty dark.